It's the answer for the indecisive: a little bit of everything as a tasting platter, artfully displayed on a Lazy Susan complete with a Sterno-warmed, cast-iron grill for toasting at the table. The shrimp are lightly coconut-flake-battered; teriyaki beef and chicken skewers are moist and slightly sweet; wings and egg rolls are quite pleasing. And does anyone really need us to describe the ecstasy of crunching through a hot cheese wonton? ($5.75 a head, minimum two people)

Let's just say slices of pepperoni pizza from Joey's are so damn good — those wide, thin bites so fresh, so steaming hot with lava cheese and delicious grease from the 600-degree oven — we can barely believe it when they tell us the sauce, though modified to their own custom recipe, starts in a can. ($2.19 per slice/$15.03 per pie)

Jun is the only place in the city you can find shabu-shabu, commonly called "Japanese fondue." You take carpaccio-thin steak cuts of your choice and quickly boil them in dashi water (dried kelp and fermented tuna flake) with optional spicy sauce and miso paste enhancement. In goes cabbage, onions and other veggies, all of which is spooned out over rice or plonked in bright, house-made Ponzu, Yuzu or sesame dips. (New York strip/$39.50, filet/$47.50, Kobe filet /$89.50)

It's a beautiful plate, this one full of mounded rice in one corner, some sliced tomatoes and cucumbers in another, and a side of clear, thin, tangy lemon sauce in the middle. And completing the picture? Two long squares of deeply charred meat topped with little curls of scallions and floral juices. ($10.95)

Precious few items remain fixed on Margarita's ever-changing menu, but this is one that's earned its spot by popular demand. The salmon's rubbed with brown sugar, salt and pepper and hickory smoked on the stove-top. Insert a bed of spinach salad, caper cream cheese and either a horseradish crema or lemon-dill tarter sauce. And son, you're in happytown. ($10 on the lounge menu/$13 at brunch)

When it comes to hitting the venerable Marigold Café for a rich, dark-brown pool of slow-cooked, mashable beef cuts and deeply rich gravy, here's the best advice: Leave your grandma at home. One bite of this, and she'll only get depressed and stop cooking. ($20)

You're in the driver's seat on this one, so watch the grill — and no whining if your house-cut New York Strip or Rib Eye heads past your desired medium-rare into the well-done territory of shame. Choose between steak cuts ranging from 8 to 26 ounces; you can go bigger, too, paying an extra $1 for every ounce thereafter. Up to you on adding onion and/or garlic powder, salt, pepper, soy or Worcestershire sauce grill-side and A.1. at the table. Don't let us down. ($9.99 to $18.99 and beyond, includes salad bar and a baked potato)

Because you went for the all-you-can-eat dining option, you're attention is scattered all over the menu, understandably. But save gut real estate, breathe and focus for a moment on the White Fish Volcano nigiri. Toasted rice, red snapper and a creamy white sauce topped with minced cucumber, daikon and mango. Order it. Repeat until full. ($4.95 à la carte for two pieces/$14.95 lunch/$24.95 dinner, all-you-can-eat dining)

You'd swear the golden pool full of cubed chicken chunks, easily splitting into pink shreds, was 90-percent sweet cream. But ginger zings, then garlic sings, then yogurt and tomatoes vibrate with biting tang. Then you're taking another bite, then you're out of steaming, grilled naan to pile it onto, then you're out of room to eat, so you roll to the car. ($12.95)

Are there actually any collard greens in that giant mound? Oh yes, there they are — under all that pulled smoked turkey. It's like half-and-half, flesh and leaf. Forget that sad little ham hock your ancestors boiled their green beans with: There's like half a bird in this spectacular roughage. Gobble gobble! ($2.50 as a side)

It's like Hanukkah's golden latkes went to Vietnam for a makeover. Rough-grated carrots and yams are battered in Vietnamese beer and gluten-free rice flour, then deep-fried crisp. Great, right? But it's what comes next that pushes it off the charts: fresh mint, basil and cilantro served with crisp lettuce leaves for wrapping, then dunking into a sweet house sauce. Epic. ($7.45)

Essential drop-ins

Spend a little time in this section of town, and you'll hear someone raving about each of the places listed below.

Amanda's west side location is a longtime Indy Best Of winner, and the addition of a North Academy Boulevard location sees new ownership parlaying that popularity into an expansion strategy. The popular Tex-Mex menu now features some new additions, like the Chicken Ensenada.

The big news of 2012 for CMB was its expansion to a striking second location in the iconic former Van Briggle Pottery building southwest of downtown. The two locations sport slightly different menus, but at either you can't go wrong with the bison chili or a steak burger. And the house IPA always makes a wise brew choice.

Crave made Zagat's list of The Best Burgers in 25 Cities earlier this year, on the heels of earning a People's Choice award at the 2012 Denver Burger Battle and becoming a finalist at Las Vegas' World Food Championships. Now with a third location in Highlands Ranch (the original's in Castle Rock), it's a growing empire built upon enormous, unusual burgers, best enjoyed with sweet potato fries and an Amaretto shake.

La Rosa Southwestern Dining

25 State Hwy. 105, Palmer Lake, 368-7676

Pretty much all you need to know here is to order the carne adovada — it's the finest rendition of the slow-roasted pork dish we've ever eaten. New Mexico flavors and styles lend a much-more-unique-than-your-average-Tex-Mex feel to the small, quaint space. Do an organic tequila flight or down some caldillo with an agua fresca.

Lanna Thai

8810 N. Union Blvd., 282-0474

Lanna Thai taps into the fine-dining side of Thai cuisine, with sharp décor, attentive service and beautifully presented food. Start with the Tom Yum Goong soup, followed by the Pa-Nang Talay or Gang Ga-Rhee curry. And rest assured: Lanna Thai doesn't use MSG, and offers plenty of gluten-free options.

Chef Scarlett Farney recently took control of this dapper, lodge-set dining room with expansive mountain views. Her menu shines brightest at dinner with dishes like Colorado lamb or pork-loin chops and a duck-confit grilled cheese. Make sure to include the crab cakes during a lunch visit.

Welcome home. Here's what's for dinner: a pretzel stick with an Elephant Rock IPA as an appetizer, followed by a meat-and-cheese platter enjoyed with a Devils Head Red. For dessert, the house-favorite pairing of the German chocolate stout cake with pecan-coconut-praline filling, made and enjoyed with the Summit House Stout. See you next time, perhaps at a special brewer's dinner.

Chef Carla Erick, roast master Ryan Wanner and crew just celebrated R&R's fifth anniversary at a new, expanded facility (across the street from the old location). Both the beans and bites are well-handled, from non-cloying espresso drinks to superior pastries. Totally worth a destination drive to Black Forest.

The Speedtrap's an awesome community spot for all three meals, happy hours and free live music nights. Suck down locally roasted coffee, local microbrews or snappy cocktails alongside creative plates like a buffalo bratwurst crêpe with caramelized onions and sharp cheddar. Also catch the buttermilk-flax Sunday waffles.

Beyond its own selection of highly rated, cutting-edge saisons (including both Bretta and lacto-fermented series), Trinity sports the finest, most expansive guest-tap selection in town. Recent expansions to the site have brought increased production capability, an 80-barrel cellar room and a big move to statewide distribution. In for a drink? Get the spicy chicken-and-bleu mac 'n cheese with a cask-aged Flo IPA.